I Blame the Cat!
by Corrosive Moon
Summary: Riku was the strangest cat in many, many ways, mostly due to the fact that he wasn't entirely a cat.  Not that Sora was aware of this.  For copycat-capycot.  RikuxSora.  M for later chapters.  No bestiality, I promise.
1. Chapter 1

**To **_**copycat-capycot**_**, my wonderful beta. I hope you like this fic. Yes, I intentionally chose a cat fic because of your username. :P (And I like cats.) This is just a little something to show my appreciation. You're a great beta! Punctual, not too pushy, and a perfect grammar police! :D  
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**To all: As I intended for this fic to be a surprise, this is **_**unbetad**_**, so please excuse any terrible grammar. **

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN KINGDOM HEARTS.  
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><p><em>I Blame the Cat!<em>

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><p><em>Chapter 1: The Peculiar Cat<em>

Riku was the strangest cat in many, many ways. For one thing, he walked like a King no matter what the occasion. For another, it seemed that at times he understood human speech (when Sora would ask his silver cat where he misplaced his car keys, his homework or his cell phone, the cat would readily lead him to his lost object, or even bring it to him, much to the brunette's delight.) And lastly, Riku was always present whenever Sora would undress in the house. _Always_.

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><p>"Sora, I think we should buy a muzzle for Riku," Roxas Strife said during breakfast as he eased a spoonful of cereal into his mouth.<p>

His older twin brother, Sora Strife, looked offended by the very thought. "What?" he exclaimed. "Why?"

"'Cause your stupid cat keeps meowing at, like, three in the morning." The blonde jabbed an angry finger at the silver feline, who was sitting on Sora's lap contently. Riku lifted his head and twitched a lazy ear.

"Really? I don't hear him," Sora said. "And he sleeps in my room."

"That's because you're practically comatose when you're asleep. Riku's getting a muzzle," Roxas said definitively.

"Give him a break, Roxas!" The older Strife whined. "He's a cat! Riku doesn't mean it, do you, boy?" The brunette cooed. Riku looked up at him and meowed innocently. Sora affectionately stroked his soft, furry head. "Honestly, Roxas, just because you don't like him—"

"_He_ doesn't like _me_!" The blonde clarified, picking up his cereal bowl and placing it in the sink. "I swear! Yesterday, I was walking downstairs and Riku tried to trip me by weaving around my legs!"

"He was being cute and loving and adorable!" Sora protested. Meanwhile, Riku's turquoise eyes fixated on Roxas and the younger Strife could have sworn the cat was smiling.

"He was trying to kill me!" The younger Strife insisted.

"Will you two get ready for school already?" Cloud, their father, said as he lifted his eyes from his newspaper. "Roxas, Riku's a cat, not a diabolical, criminal mastermind. He's not trying to kill you. Sora, control your pet. End of argument. Now go, the both of you."

Frowning, the twins excused themselves from the table, climbed up the stairs, and entered their respective rooms. Riku followed Sora the entire way, the bell on his collar jingling softly.

"I don't know what Roxas is talking about," Sora mumbled, crouching down to scratch the cat's chin. "You wouldn't harm a fly."

Riku meowed happily. The brunette smiled, went to his closet, and opened the door.

The routine was always the same, Riku had long-sinced memorized it. Sora would strip to his underwear (the shirt came off first, then the pants) and stand in front of his closet for several minutes as he decided between one of six identical uniforms. Then he would place the long-sleeved shirt on, fumble with the tie, place on his slacks, and his blazer was donned last. Then, Sora would scramble for his backpack, bid Riku good-bye before grabbing his lunch from his mother, Aerith, and walk to the bus stop with Roxas.

The rest of the family was out of the house within an hour. Cloud would leave for work by 8:00 AM and Aerith went to her flower shop around 8:30 AM. Once the door slammed shut, Riku patiently waited in Sora's room for another thirty minutes because sometimes Cloud or Aerith would forget an article or two and come back.

When 9:00 AM rolled by, Riku slipped his collar off his neck as his back shivered. His fur stood on end as his bones popped, twisted and lengthened. He grimaced. The bones morphing were always the most uncomfortable part of the process. The fur on his body melted away, revealing pale, smooth, white skin. His feline nose flattened and his human mouth and lips began to form. His long, silver hair spilled down from his head, stopping just before his shoulders. Riku's arms and legs grew longer, and his human hands and feet became more distinguishable.

Once his tailbones had completely retracted into his human spine and his opposable thumbs took shape, the silver-haired teen planted his feet on the ground, stood up and stretched his arms. Being stuck in his cat form for a long while always made his limbs a little stiff as a human. Riku yawned. Perhaps he shouldn't have spent half the night meowing by Roxas' door.

'It was time well-spent anyway,' Riku grinned. He did enjoy annoying the blonde.

The skinwalker spent a majority of his morning lounging on the couch as a human in one of Cloud's spare bathrobes. Around lunchtime he made himself a simple tuna salad sandwich. Months had passed since Sora had adopted Riku into his family, and by then the silver skinwalker knew his limits. No one would question the new foodstuff in the fridge. They were all too absorbed in their quaint little lives and would simply assume that the tuna salad was made by someone else in the family.

Boredom came quickly in a house with no other occupants, so Riku soon found himself rummaging for his clothes in Sora's closet. True, if it was anyone else's closet, they would have noted that several clothes were too big or unrecognizable entirely. But Sora wasn't exactly the sharpest crayon in the box, and had yet to wonder the monthly additions to his wardrobe.

Slipping into some jeans, a white shirt, a casual, black blazer and a matching fedora, Riku discreetly made his way out the backdoor and into the back ally **[1]**. Once he hit the street, the silver-haired teen promptly acted like a resident human would. He knew Twilight Town well and was very aware that because it was around 1:00 PM and a weekday the Gaming Axis would be sparse, leaving all games to him. Riku made his way there.

Loz met him at the door and welcomed him in without hesitation. He was a hulkish skinwalker with green eyes and short silver hair just a shade or two darker than the teen's. Riku had humorously labeled him as the equivalent of a club bouncer in the Rated-G establishment.

"Good afternoon, Riku," the large, older skinwalker said, bowing a bit to him.

"Hey Loz," Riku greeted.

Loz escorted him through the cashiers. All the employees who had seen him often enough no longer questioned the fact that he was invited inside and had his meals, drinks, and tokens at no cost. They had assumed that he was just their employers' precious nephew or some other sort of family relative.

"Back again, I see," Yazoo said, slinking from some dark corner with a smirk on his face. "Getting a bit too old for video games, aren't we, Cousin?" Yazoo was Loz's older brother, and was in charge of the finances of the Axis. His long silver hair fluttered behind him gracefully as he walked towards them.

"That's a bit of a contradition coming from a co-owner of an arcade," the youngest skinwalker replied, annoyed. He was only seventeen, and one was never too old for video games. Riku made his way into the gameroom, stretching out his hand to the long-haired skinwalker. "And anyway, Sora doesn't have an Xstation 3 or PlayBox 180. I get bored."

"It's _Xbox_ _360 _and _Playstation 3_," Yazoo corrected, rolling his eyes—which held the same shade as Loz's—as he deposited several tokens into the teen's hand. "You're still living with that human, obviously. Have you no shame, Riku? You're a direct descendent of the Silver Moon House and yet you flaunt your tummy for some _mongrel_ human—"

Riku's eyes blazed. "Don't speak of Sora that way," he snarled lividly.

The grin on Yazoo's face grew wider. "Or what?" he challenged, his knees bending into a crouch.

A hand clapped onto Yazoo's shoulder and Kadaj appeared. He was the oldest of the three brothers, though he didn't look it as he was small in comparison to both Loz and Yazoo. His similar hair and eyes gave away his relation to the two. "Now, now," Kadaj said with a calm smile. "Leave him be, Yazoo. We're all family here, afterall."

Yazoo grunted, jerked his shoulder from his brother's grasp and stalked off.

"You'll have to forgive him, Riku," Kadaj said. "He's been in a bad mood lately. Of course you're welcome here. A member of the main branch is always received well by us cadet branches."

"Thank you," Riku said, placing a token into a nearby Tekken machine and hitting the A button. He grabbed the joystick and chose a player. Kadaj shuffled next to him, placed in his own token and pressed A.

"Speaking of your human, how is he?" The cadet branch member asked.

"_SET. START…" _the game announced.

"He's fine," Riku said, shortly.

"_Ready…? FIGHT!"_

"So, yeah, I think you should totally fuck him." Kadaj said casually.

Riku's hand jerked the joystick to the right, causing his character (a man with a jaguar head) to run right into Kadaj's fighter (a samurai bug-thing) just in time for Bug Samurai to unleash a massive, six-hit combo leaving Jaguarhead with less than half his life points.

"Cheater!" Riku shouted, pressing the combo buttons madly.

"I wasn't cheating," Kadaj replied coolly. "I was just giving you some advice regarding your sex life. You're supposed to appreciate it because I'm older than you."

Jaguarhead double punched Bug Samurai before retreating with his hands up defensively.

"My sex life is none of your concern," the shorter of the two mumbled irritably. Jaguarhead gave Bug Samurai a hard roundhouse kick. Bug Samurai countered with a hurricane-like slash, sending Jaguarhead flying.

"Your sex life is _all_ of our concern, Riku. You're the last member of—"

Riku pushed himself away from the video game in disgust, his eyes catching a DDR game nearby. Kadaj immediately kept pace with the younger skinwalker as he made his way to the machine.

"I apologize," the elder said. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"You're lying."

Kadaj sighed with an apologetic grin. "Yeah, I am."

The teen scowled.

"Don't cry," the cadet branch member chirped.

"I'm not crying!" Riku snapped. He stepped onto the machine, placed in the tokens and selected his song.

"Are you crying because you're sexually frustrated?" Kadaj teased. "Being gay must be tough."

"I am not sexually frustrated!" The main branch member retorted, his feet flying across the DDR stage with ease. "And I am not crying!"

The older skinwalker watched his cousin without speaking, letting him play through two songs before he spoke again.

"Have you even tried to seduce him?" Kadaj asked suddenly.

That made Riku stop playing. Within seconds he lost.

"_NOOOOOOOO!"_ The announcer yelled obnoxiously, completely ignored by the two silver skinwalkers.

Kadaj tilted his head to one side curiously. "You're not seriously thinking of staying as his pet forever, are you?" he queried.

Riku sighed as he turned to face his cousin. "I want to," he said quietly. "It's nice."

"You know you can't do that," Kadaj said. "You're not a cat, Riku. Not completely."

"I _know_," the younger teen sank onto the stage and placed his face in his hands. "I know," he repeated softly.

Kadaj folded his arms on the DDR rail. "You like him a lot, right?" he asked.

"Yeah," came a muffled answer.

"So go get him." He said it so simply.

The younger teen glanced up at his cousin. "You really don't object?" he questioned. Ever since he was small he had been taught about his lineage.

_Never marry outside your race. Keep the blood pure. _These rules were particularly stressed to Riku due to his unique parentage. His mother and father were cousins from the main branch.

Kadaj shrugged. "We're a dying breed, Riku," he replied. "There was a time when our powers were revered, back when the earth was greener and the air was clean, but that time is gone. Many of us have forsaken our powers completely and assimilated into human life. What good does keeping the old ways do us? The human world is growing, and ours is slipping underneath it."

"So what are you saying?" Riku asked, fishing for a proper answer to his question.

"Sink or swim. Love is never shameful. Vive la résistance."

The silver-haired teen slipped silently into thought. Ignoring the last statement, his cousin was right. He'd been watching Sora for too long now. It was time to have him completely.

Riku nodded. Kadaj grinned. "So what are you planning on doing?" The older skinwalker asked.

"I'll enter his school as a transfer student and I'll make him fall in love with me," the adolescent said confidently.

Kadaj nodded. "That can be arranged," he said. "We'll prepare the necessary papers. Of course, you'll have to start studying for the entrance exam, as per the school's terms. I believe Marluxia is teaching there, and he can look after you once you pass."

"Marluxia?" Riku questioned, vaguely remembering his distant family member.

The elder nodded. "Will you continue to stay with Sora as his pet?"

"My current position is advantageous," Riku said briskly as he moved off the DDR machine and towards the concession stands. "I'll be able to watch Sora closely, gage my impression on him, and modify my actions as necessary."

Kadaj let out a pensive hum as he followed his younger cousin. Despite Riku's answer, he could tell there was alternative motive. "You're a pervert," the older skinwalker said.

"Shut up!" Riku retorted, his cheeks flaring and his shoulders irking.

"Are you saying you aren't?"

"Yes! I don't know why you enjoy throwing all these accusations at me."

"Because I know I'm right."

"You're not." The younger cousin jammed a small cup underneath the Coca-Cola dispenser, waited for it to fill up and slipped a straw into it.

"Is that so?" There was a definite amused tone in his question.

Riku glared at him. "What?" he asked impatiently, sipping his drink.

Kadaj smirked. "Don't act as if you don't know how big his dick is."

The main branch member choked on his drink, his face hot. The sentence was spoken loud and clear, drawing the attention of everyone within ten feet of them.

"You're an asshole," Riku hacked out in between coughs.

Kadaj only smiled. "You know me," he singsonged.

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><p>"Riku!" Sora called as he entered the house.<p>

A flash of silver flew downstairs and the cat was at his leg, purring and meowing contently.

"There you are, my little Riri!" The brunette cooed, lifting the cat from the ground. "Oh, who's a good boy? You are! You are, my cute, adorable little kitty!"

Roxas made a rolled his eyes at his brother's over-demonstrative love for his pet, but he kept silent as he pushed passed Sora and went up to his room. Meanwhile, Riku was smiling inside. He treasured every instant in the brunette's arms.

"Hey, guess what, Riku?" The eldest Strife twin asked. "Something great happened today!"

The cat tilted his head, noiselessly asking Sora to continue.

"Wow," came a new voice. A tall teen with fiery-red hair appeared from behind Sora, his amused green eyes on Riku. "You really _do_ talk to your cat," he said, grinning.

Sora pouted, clutching the silver feline to his chest. "It's not weird, Axel!" he said, stubbornly.

Axel, Riku knew that name. The older Strife twin had mentioned him once or twice.

"Yeah, it is," Axel said, chuckling. Before the brunette could even protest, the redhead stepped forward and silenced him with a quick kiss. "But it's cute," he amended.

Riku's eyes widened, his body suddenly felt numb and cold even though he was so close to Sora.

The brunette looked down at his cat. "Riku, this is Axel," he introduced as an exhilarated blush painted the human's cheeks. "He's my boyfriend."

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><p>"<em>Riku, listen carefully. Head to Twilight Town. Find Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz." <em>

_His father's words rang clearly in his mind, but they weren't enough to stave off his hunger. Riku was starving. Even as a cat, he couldn't even scrounge up enough food to get by. _

_The afternoon sun was beating down hard on his back, the pavement was scalding his soft paws. His throat was dry. When was the last time he had any water? He didn't remember._

_Riku knew that any minute now he would keel over and die. It was taking every last ounce of his strength just to walk and hold his shape at the same time. Each step jarred his small, thin, feline body. It won't be long now, and his vision was getting blurry. _

_At last Riku collapsed. The remainder of his mental power instantly shifted to keep himself stable._

_Don't transform back, he told himself. 'You can't. Not out here.' _

_Footsteps. Human footsteps. Someone was coming._

"_Hey…" came a soft voice. A gentle hand patted his scrawny chest. Whoever-It-Was clicked their tongue in an attempt to call him. "Hey, Kitty."_

"_Sora, don't," said another human. "It's already dead."_

"He_," the first voice, Sora, corrected after lifting up Riku's tail, "is still breathing."_

"_Well, we can't take him home!"_

"_Yes, we can, Roxas!" Riku felt someone lift him up. _

"_Sora!" Roxas complained. _

"_Listen to your older brother! We're taking this kitty home!" With that, Sora held Riku close to him protectively. The skinwalker finally managed to glance at his savior. _

_Sapphire eyes, h__air the color of chocolate, and a__ soft, childlike face. __He was beautiful._

"_Just because you like cats…" Roxas mumbled. "And you're only older by two minutes."_

"_Still older!" Sora argued as they began to walk. _

"_Can you even take care of a cat?"_

"_Of course I can! What's there to it?"_

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><p><strong>[1]<strong> the back ally where the cars came and went. **For all you suburb folks like me, in the big cities, usually their garages don't open into the street (I hear it's for aesthetic purposes.) Instead, the garages are located in the back, opening into an ally that leads into the streets. So Riku's pretty out of sight when he sneaks out of the house. **

**Okay, okay. This story was inspired by four things (1) a SoraRoxas fic I read long, long ago about Roxas being an alien cat from some planet and Sora taking care of him. Or something like that. I can't really find that fic anymore. (No, Riku ISN'T an alien in this fic.) (2) an episode of Supernatural; that one with the skinwalker who lived with the family. (3) this funny webpage I saw called 'Secret Cat Diary.' (4) I like cats. So there.**

**Yay! Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz! I love them, they're such a cute trio. :) I'm happy I finally get to write about them. All right, so just to make this clear: Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz **_**are**_** Riku's cousins, but their blood isn't as pure as his. They're from a cadet branch with more diluted blood and Riku comes from the main line. Riku's like royalty.**

**Okay, just for clarification, Riku is a HUMAN who can transform into ANIMALS. Skinwalker. I don't like using this word, though, because it makes it seem like Riku's an animal that turns into a human. I wanted to say 'shapeshifter' but that implied too large of an area. Skinwalker was the closest thing. I KNOW I'm bending the lore because a skinwalker is supposed to have, like, the skin of the animal they want to transform into. Riku does it like, *poof.* I was sorely tempted to call Riku an animagus but then I remembered that this isn't Harry Potter. Hahaha. If someone has a better noun to describe what Riku is, please don't hesitate to tell me. PM or review, doesn't matter. **

**_Copycat-capycot_, rock on. :D (Um, and also, I can send you this document for betaing if the grammar's too abhorring. Hahaha.) **

_**|Corrosive Moon|**_

**P.S. I don't know if this is a good idea to ask since it's the first chapter - so obviously there's a lot of things that have yet to be revealed - but I encourage you all to ask questions. (Not exactly a ploy to receive more reviews.) **


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow, you guys... like this story. That's a relief. The moment I published the first chapter, I thought this story might've been too weird or too out-there. So I'm happy. :) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts.**

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><p><em>Chapter 2: The Conniving, Studious Cat<em>

It only took one glance at the redhead for Riku to devise his next mission: Keep him away from Sora. Axel came over almost every day, and Riku made sure that he was close to Sora to thwart the redhead's advances however way he can. The skinwalker harassed Axel in as many ways as he could think of; stealing the taller teen's personal items such as his cell phone, meowing obnoxiously whenever the redhead got too close to Sora, and—of course—executing harmful measures with a cute kitty façade.

"WHOA!" Axel shouted as he caught himself on the handrail just in time.

"Axel, are you all right?" Sora called from the foot of the stairs, a tray of snacks in his hand.

"Yeah, your cat was swooping around my legs and I tripped, but I caught myself. Lucky, huh? I could have really hurt myself." The redhead turned to Sora with a sheepish grin.

At the top of stairs, Riku glared down at the taller teen maliciously. 'Damn,' he thought to himself.

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><p>"…And therefore <em>q<em> equals two-point-five! Ha!" Axel said triumphantly as he wrote down his answer. He placed his mechanical pencil down and did victory stretch on Sora's bed. The brunette had gone downstairs to help his mother in the kitchen with something or other, leaving Axel alone with Riku.

"All right, time to get started on the next question," the redhead mumbled. He reached for his pencil—

It wasn't there.

Confused, Axel turned around to search for his missing item. It didn't take him long to notice Sora's cat at the foot of the bed, and that the said cat was holding a very familiar mechanical pencil in his mouth.

"Hey, Riku," Axel said gently. "See you got my pencil there." The tall teen extended his hand to extract his pencil. "Mind if I have it—"

The silver cat crouched menacingly. "RRROWWWWR!" Riku growled, his hair on end.

Axel immediately jerked his hand away. "Nevermind, you can keep it," he muttered.

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><p>"Hey, Riku, whatcha got there?" Axel asked as he spied Riku slinking into Sora's room with something in his mouth.<p>

The silver cat trotted over to him and for a moment the redhead thought that he was finally starting to get along with his boyfriend's cat. And then Riku proudly placed his little parcel at Axel's feet and the tall teen's eyes bulged. It was a little horrifically disemboweled lizard that bore a red shade with an uncanny resemblance to Axel's hair.

Riku strolled over to his little cat bed and plopped inside contently, his turquoise eyes on Axel.

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><p>"You're not so bad, are you?" Axel cooed as he lifted Riku up.<p>

The silver cat was purring contently, his stroking his rough tongue over Axel's cheeks.

"Aww!" The redhead said, cradling Riku in his arms. The feline kept on licking him vigorously and aside from the weird ticklishness, Axel found it kind of cute.

"Hey, Sora! Look! I think Riku likes me now!" The tall teen said as he walked into the kitchen.

"Um, Axel?" Sora said as he took a pitcher of instant tea from the fridge and poured himself a glass.

"Yeah?"

"You might not want to let him keep doing that." He almost laughed as Riku licked Axel's chin.

"Huh? Why?"

"Well," the brunette paused as he thought to word his next sentence delicately. "I saw Riku licking himself earlier and—"

"OH MY GOD!_!_" Axel shouted, dropping the cat immediately and running to the nearest bathroom to clean his skin until the pigment flaked off.

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><p>"Sora, your cat is looking at me."<p>

The brunette turned his gaze to Axel and then to his silver cat. "Your attention to detail is mind-boggling, Axel. I had no idea," he replied with a wry smirk.

"No, I mean it, your cat is staring at me," Axel insisted.

"Maybe he thinks you're cute," Sora teased.

Riku let out a discontented growl. The redhead leaned away from the cat, his eyes watching Riku apprehensively. "I don't think so," Axel said.

"Maybe he wants you to pet him?" Sora suggested.

The redhead carefully lifted his hand and Riku pulled his lips back and gave a small hiss. Axel immediately drew away.

"No, I'm pretty sure he doesn't."

Sora petted his cat's furry head. "He's probably just having trouble getting used to you."

Oh, he had _no idea._

The brunette got to his feet. "I'm gonna go get something to drink. Wanna come?"

"Yeah." Axel rose from his spot and followed the brunette out.

Possibly risking his cover, Riku morphed back into his human form, scribbled something onto Axel's homework and shifted back before the two teens returned.

Axel lifted his homework sheet to his eyes, set on attacking a difficult chemistry problem now that he had regrouped his wits, and found himself staring at a rather disturbing message:

GO AWAY, it said in pencil.

Inwardly, Riku smirked as Axel's eyes widened.

'That's right, you horrible little red twig…' the skinwalker thought. 'Fear me.'

"Sora?" Axel asked.

"Mm-hm?" The brunette looked up from his English homework.

"Is your house haunted?"

"No, why?' Sora questioned fearfully. He was frightened of horror movies, he could barely stand Halloween.

Axel raised his vandalized homework and the brunette's eyes almost popped right of his head.

"Ohmigod, ohmigod!" Sora said, his voice rising up a pitch. "Is my house _haunted? _Axel, I don't want my house to be haunted! I hate ghosts! Especially scary ghosts!"

"Hey, hey," Axel said soothingly, bringing the smaller teen into his arms. "Look, it's okay. It's just nothing. Maybe Roxas did it as a joke."

"Yeah, yeah, you're right." Sora nodded. "It was probably Roxas."

The redhead planted a kiss on his cheeks and Riku growled menacingly. "There, see?" Axel said, deciding to ignore the feline's threat in lieu of his boyfriend's grief. "And if there were ghosts, you'd have nothing to worry about. I happen to be a master at kicking non-corporeal asses." The taller teen grinned.

Riku was quite sure that even his feline face was able to express his profound disgust at the romantic-comedy lightheartedness invading the atmosphere.

The brunette giggled as the Axel wrapped his arms around him. "I am also incredibly adept at calming the damsel in distress," the redhead added.

"Is that so?" Sora asked.

Just as Axel decided to lean in for the knight in shining armor's kiss, Riku decided to deposit a warm, wet hairball on the redhead's lap, mood-shattering gag noises included. The taller teen yelped and shot to his feet, letting out a string of feline-related curses as he rushed to the bathroom. Sora ran out after his boyfriend. Riku padded after them, immensely pleased with himself.

* * *

><p>"Huh?" Kadaj looked up from his desk. "You want to move up your entrance exam date?"<p>

"Yes," Riku said firmly from the opposite end, "to next week."

The older cousin blinked. "Are you sure, Riku? I know you're smart, but—"

"Sora has a boyfriend," the adolescent blurted out.

"Oh," Kadaj placed his papers down and set his glasses aside. "So that's why."

"I won't wait," Riku said. "The longer I do, the more Sora gets attached to that… _redhead…" _He added an evident amount of spite to the last word.

The elder skinwalker scratched his head. "All right," he conceded. "But we're going to have to call in some help."

"Meaning?" the silver-haired teen tilted his head curiously.

"I'm contacting Zexion," Kadaj held up his cellphone in his hand and began to dial. "I don't think he's too busy at the university but you know him; always hitting the books."

"Zexion's already in college?" Riku asked, surprised. The lilac-haired teen was younger than him by a year.

"Yup. It's his first year. Oh, hey, Zexion!" Kadaj greeted suddenly. "Glad you answered your phone. Listen, have you got some spare time? Riku needs your help."

* * *

><p>Riku knocked on the door briskly.<p>

"I'll get it!" came the instant reply. Footsteps, along with a steady chant of "I'll get it, I'll get it, I'll get it," made their way to the door and silver-haired teen found himself face-to-face with a sandy-blond with a mullet-mohawk hairstyle. Judging by his height, he was obviously older than Riku; twenty-two, maybe. His clothing was loose and informal, a t-shirt and some sleeping pants, and there was a silly, lopsided grin on his face.

"Hi!" the new acquaintance said, gleefully. "Can I help you?"

"Uh, hi," Riku said uneasily. "I'm Riku and I think Zexion is expecting me."

"Oh!" There was now a marked nervousness in the sandy-blond's tone. "L-Lord Riku, sir. U-uh… I… I'm—It's nice to meet you, your Grace. I'm Demyx, do you want to—I mean, please come inside—"

"You don't have to be so formal," Riku said, waving off Demyx's need to treat him like royalty.

The mullet-mohawked man didn't seem to have heard him and he quickly led Riku to Zexion's room. Demyx knocked twice.

"Zexy, Lord Riku's here," he announced. Before the silver skinwalker could correct him about the title the door opened and a slate-haired teen appeared.

"Lord Ri—" he began with bow.

"Just Riku, please, Zexion," Riku amended, humbly. "I'm hardly in any position to be addressed as a 'lord' anymore. I'm just a pet cat, now."

"If you would be kind enough to indulge me then, my Lord," Zexion said. "I would be most grateful."

The silver-haired skinwalker shrugged his shoulders in resignation as the younger invited him into his room.

"So I'm told you want to pass the exams within a week?" Zexion asked.

Riku nodded.

"It will be difficult, but not entirely impossible for you, my Lord. We should get started."

* * *

><p>"I don't like this, Kadaj," Yazoo said, leaning back on his older brother's desk. "Riku's exposing himself too much. The attack on the Main House was only six months ago," he reminded him.<p>

"I'm aware," Kadaj said.

Loz, who was straddling a chair on Kadaj's right, frowned and nodded.

Yazoo folded his arms over his chest and continued. "Then you should realize that it's too soon to allow him out in the open for such a long, predictable period. And to court a human, no less!"

"We'll be watching him, Yazoo. Just like we've been doing," Kadaj replied, straightening his papers. "No hunter in his right mind would think of attacking him in a mass of humans. Marluxia will be protecting him too. He may be incredibly girly, but he's just as capable as we are, you know that. And besides, Riku needs to get out more often, don't you think?"

Yazoo sighed, remembering a brief conversation about gaming consoles he had with Riku not too long ago. "You're right. But I still think he's being too rash," he added.

"Oh, he's just being young. I think we should be happy. He's actually willing to fight for something for once." Kadaj sighed deeply. "You remember when he was just a tiny little thing?"

"Yeah," the middle brother snorted. "He was so gullible."

* * *

><p>"I don't think this is a good idea, Sora," Axel said, eyeing the growling silver cat in the corner warily.<p>

"Why not?" the brunette pouted. They had Riku trapped in Sora's room. The brunette holding the silver cat's collar in one hand, crouched, knees apart and ready to catch Riku the moment he tried to dart away. Axel was reluctantly beside him.

"He hates me!" the taller teen said. "Look at him! His hair's standing on end! And I am not kidding, Sora! I really think your cat has something against me—"

"Just hold him while I put his collar on!"

"Oh, for the love of—Fine," the redhead gave in. "You should get your cat a tighter collar, though." He stepped forward cautiously.

"ROWR!" Riku shrieked, spitting mad. No! He would never allow that human to touch him! Never! Axel staggered back with a frightened cry, hands up defensively. The silver cat took his chance to sprint away, shooting right for the top of the brunette's bookcase.

"Riku!" Sora whined. "Riku, come down!"

'Not while _he's_ still here…' Riku thought bitterly. Despite the skinwalker's pestering, Axel did not waver in his affection towards Sora. If it wasn't so damn frustrating, Riku would have found his conviction admirable. But at least the redhead showed a reasonable amount of fear in the silver cat's presence. That would be enough. For now.

The elder Strife twin sighed. "I don't know what's gotten into him. He's never acted like this."

"Seriously, Sora, I think he wants me dead or something." Axel slipped his arm around Sora's waist. Riku hissed. How right the redhead was.

Axel sighed and kissed the brunette's cheek. "All right, I have to go," he said. "See you tomorrow."

Sora turned his head to him, allowing Axel access to his lips. "See you," the older Strife twin murmured. The taller adolescent leaned forward to kiss him—

"MRRROWWWWRRR!" Riku yowled from the bookcase, eyes livid.

'Don't you dare!' the skinwalker thought poisonously.

Axel leaped away from the brunette with a small yelp. "U-uh, later, Sora," he said quickly.

"Wait, I'll show you out," Sora said quickly, shooting Riku a hasty, dirty glare that made the silver cat feel a twinge of guilt.

They exited the room. Riku leaped from the bookcase and dashed to the window to make sure the redhead wouldn't attempt anything before he left. With a smug sense of satisfaction he watched Axel half-run to his car without looking back.

The silver cat's triumph was short-lived however, as minutes later Sora entered his room with a clear-blue squirt bottle in his hand. Riku immediately tensed, his eyes anxiously focused on the bottle. The brunette rarely utilized it, but the skinwalker was acutely aware of the times he did. Real cat or not, a face-full of cold water was still thoroughly unpleasant.

"You _know_ I don't like using this," he said. "But honestly, Riku, if you don't stop misbehaving…" he pointed the tip of the bottle at the cat as a warning. Riku drew back.

"So I guess we understand each other, then?"

Of course, being a feline, Riku didn't answer. But he certainly looked guilty to Sora.

"Sora, are you talking to your cat again?" Roxas asked from outside the room. The blonde had walked by as his brother was scolding the cat.

"Silence, Roxas, this is serious!" the brunette shouted back.

* * *

><p>Between the hours of 12:00 AM and 5:00 AM for the next seven days straight, Riku trekked to Zexion and Demyx's apartment and studied. Zexion proved to be a brilliant, but intense, teacher and if not for Demyx, Riku would have had very few—if any—breaks. The content wasn't difficult, but there was a lot Riku needed to cover, like the vast human history and advanced mathematics. Zexion purchased some study books for the entrance exam for Riku's use during the daytime when Sora's house was empty of humans and Zexion couldn't tutor him because he had class.<p>

Demyx, the silver-haired teen discovered later, was a skinwalker as well. His preferred form was a labradoodle with hair the same shade as his human form. Demyx and Zexion had met while the lilac-haired skinwalker was taking a prerequisite course in the local college and their relationship had grown from there.

Riku had grown fond of Demyx in a short time, refreshed by the older man's fluffy personality and flattered by the excessive devotion he showed him, which was second only to the sandy-blonde's love for Zexion. Once Demyx had grown comfortable with being on informal terms with Riku, the mullet-mohawked skinwalker would hold impromptu guitar concerts in his honor—he was a music major—and always had a delicious cake, cookie, or other sweet treat available to him. Any hospitality he could extend, Demyx willed with optimistic energy.

Meanwhile, at the Strife House, Riku was becoming more and more miserable. Axel came over almost every day, touching and kissing Sora brazenly now that Riku was forced to behave. The brunette contently allowed himself to bend to his (soon-to-be) short-lived infatuation. At the threat of being exiled from the Sora's room or worse, the silver skinwalker endured these painful moments in docile silence. Though his studies were progressing well, the strain from the sleepless nights, the immense amount of pure learning in a short time, and the stress of watching his love in another person's arms were taking its toll. Even Sora was beginning to notice a particular glumness in his cat.

"Do you think he's sick?" the brunette asked Aerith, pushing Riku's food bowl in front of him. As a special treat, Sora had decided to give his cat a can of pink tuna to coax him into eating. The skinwalker glanced at the bowl briefly and half-heartedly began to eat. Sora immediately petted him liberally as a reward, a worried look on his face.

Aerith crouched down next to the silver cat. "Maybe it was something he ate?" she suggested. "Should we take him to the vet?"

Riku gave a loud meow in protest. He hated the vet. Going to the vet meant a thermometer up his ass, which was thoroughly unpleasant, emotionally scarring and _not _what he needed right now. The silver cat rushed away from them, determined not to let them have their way.

* * *

><p>"Hey there, little cousin, what's with the long look?" Kadaj asked, pulling at Riku's hair to catch his attention. The silver-haired teen's upper half was flopped facedown over a table in one of the Axis' four dining rooms, his forehead resting on his folded arms and the rest of his body slouched gloomily in the chair. His three cousins settled around him, eyeing his depressed state with interest. Yazoo glanced at the massive cup in the silver-haired teen's hand.<p>

"Ooh, the extra large cup. Mountain Dew, too…" the middle brother said in awe. "That bad, huh? Let me guess, you've just found out that you're dumber than you thought you were?"

"Sora has recently become a non-virgin?" Kadaj ventured.

"You lost your favorite shoe?" Loz asked.

Riku's response came out as a nearly unintelligible burble. The brothers leaned forward, hands cupped to their ears to hear him better.

"_Mumble, mumble!—_hate you_—_mumble!—__I'm tired__—_mumble!—___studying___—_angry mumble!—____so mean to me!" Riku replied obscurely.

"Oh, come on, you know we don't mean it…" Kadaj replied, grinning. "But honestly, your teenage drama is just too much fun to poke at."

"_Mumble!— _Sora_— _angry mumble!—__stupid redhead__—_sad mumble…"___

Yazoo rolled his eyes. "So he's forbidden you to act out against his love interest. What is he, your mother? Gods, Riku, man up, already. "

"Yeah, you should stop drinking so much Mountain Dew, too. You'll need all the testosterone you can get, you woman," the oldest brother commented, grinning.

Loz nodded sagely.

"_Angry mumble!—_woman!" Riku protested, banging his empty fist lightly on the table.

"I'm not the one drinking away my feelings and PMSing at a table all by my lonesome," Kadaj pointed out.

The silver-haired teen curled his back angrily and let loose a string of outraged ramblings so incomprehensible that the three gave up trying to decipher him. For about two minutes, they waited for him to stop; Kadaj drumming his fingers patiently on the table, Yazoo holding a hand to his mouth and poorly stifling his laughter, Loz tilting his head to one side in curiosity. Finally Riku quieted down.

"Are you done?" Kadaj asked.

Riku nodded slowly.

"All right. Here are some tokens," the oldest brother pressed several gold-plated coins in his cousin's hand. "Go play that shooting game you like so much. And no more Mountain Dew. It goes straight to your head."

"And your testicles," Yazoo added.

"And your testicles," Loz echoed.

"Loz, I just said that," the middle brother said.

Riku slumped away from the table and miserably trudged to the game room.

"Yazoo, go get his books," Kadaj said once the teen was out of sight. "If he wants that human as bad as he says he does, he'll need to start studying once he's gotten over himself."

Yazoo scowled. "Fine," he said. "You need to stop being so nice to him just because he's the baby."

"Babies are cute," Loz said.

The long-haired man sighed. "Come on, Loz. You're going with me."

* * *

><p>Next Saturday morning, Riku stood in front of the doors of Twilight Town High School.<p>

"You'll be fine," Kadaj, who was next to him, said.

The younger skinwalker nodded confidently and entered the school. They were immediately greeted by a man, in his late twenties or early thirties, who smelled of flowers and had pink here. A briefcase was in his hand.

"Marluxia," Kadaj addressed the man promptly. "Long time, no see."

"Kadaj, Lord Riku," he spoke in a quiet voice. "It is an honor to finally meet you, my Lord." He bowed respectfully. "My name is Marluxia Einhardt, and I am a teacher at this school."

"Nice to meet you. And it's just Riku, please, Marluxia," Riku corrected.

"Riku, then," the pink-haired skinwalker said.

"All right, I'll leave him in your hands," Kadaj said. "I'll be back in three hours to pick you up, Riku."

"If you would please follow me, Riku," Marluxia said, glancing at the teen. "I will guide you to your testing site."

Riku followed him down the hallways quietly; in his mind he was turning over all the information he had learned.

"Kadaj tells me you are eager to attend this school," the teacher said. "I will be glad to speed up the grading process as best I can."

"Thank you, Marluixa," Riku nodded. "I would be most grateful."

Marluixa bowed his head. "Here we are," he gestured with an open hand to the door marked 121. The pink-haired skinwalker opened the door for Riku. There were several other potential students in the room as well, sitting quietly and anxiously waiting.

The teen stepped through the door, Marluixa following him.

"Good morning," the teacher said. "My name is Mr. Einhardt and I will be proctoring your exam today." Marluxia set down the briefcase he had been carrying and began to explain the rules of the test. "I'm going to pass out the test, place the paper face down and do not start until I have instructed you to do so. As you may already know, the test lasts two hours and forty-five minutes."

The pink-haired skinwalker lifted up a stack of papers from the case and began to walk down the rows handing them to the students, rattling off the basic instructions for the tests. "If you need a calculator for some reason, I will provide you with one. You are allowed one bathroom break. Please raise your hand if you need to use the bathroom or have any questions about the test. No, I cannot give you the answer to a test question. Please remain silent and respectful of others. Cheating is absolutely not allowed." Marluxia finished giving out the tests and stood behind the desk.

The teacher glanced briefly at the clock. "Time is eight o' clock. The test will be over at ten forty-five," Marluixa said. "You may begin."

* * *

><p>"Hey, looks like Riku's looking better!" Aerith said cheerfully as the cat bounded in-between her son's legs as he entered the kitchen. Axel walked in behind Sora. Once the brunette seated himself at the table, Riku leaped onto his lap, purring.<p>

"Yeah, he was totally different when I came home," Sora said, petting the feline happily. Riku's mood had drastically improved since four days ago. "I guess you were right Mom, it was probably something he ate." He took Riku's small head in his hands and blew a bit of air onto his face. The cat squinted, squirming a little.

"Who's a good kitty, Riku?" he cooed. The skinwalker meowed.

Axel grinned and gingerly extended his hand to pet Riku. "Glad to see you're all bet—" he began, but Riku sprinted off Sora and escaped under the chair with a small agitated meow. However, the skinwalker's tail was swishing happily. Nothing could bring down his mood today, not even the redhead. Because Kadaj told him he received a call from Marluixa today. Riku had passed. He was going to attend Twilight Town High School the coming Monday.

* * *

><p><em>Riku fully intended to leave Sora once he had his strength back. Though, he had grown comfortable in this quaint little house, the cat food was tolerable and the human was a very kind host. But he certainly wasn't going to be a house pet! His family would be rolling in their graves. He had to find Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz, like his father said. He needed to be with his own kind as soon as possible. Riku firmly believed this…<em>

…_until the night he saw Sora naked for the first time._

_It was the third night he had been taken into the Strife household. Sora kept Riku in a comfortable, warm cat bed close to his own bed so he could watch over him better. At that time, Riku was napping; still recovering from his journey, but he was getting better. His silver hair was starting to regain its luster, and his bones were not as pronounced as before. Sora was in bathroom down the hall, beginning his bath. _

_The sound of the door opening made Riku stir. As he opened his eyes, Sora rushed in front of him—not a thread on his person—looking nervously for something. The skinwalker lifted his head off the cat bed, his eyes widening to take in every detail of the brunette's beautiful nude form, his slim waist, the hint of abs at his stomach, the sparse trail of pubic hairs trailing to…_

"…_underwear, underwear, forgot my clean underwear…" Sora muttered. Granted, he could have just placed on his dirty clothes instead of wandering about in this… vulnerable state. Not that Riku was complaining. _

_When the oldest Strife twin turned he caught sight of his cat staring intently at him. He smiled, happy to see the cat awake and was completely unaware of the lecherous intent behind his cat's perkier state. _

"_Hey, Riku!" Sora said, scrunching up his boxers in his right hand. "I'll feed you when I'm done taking a bath, okay?" With that, the brunette exited his room quickly._

* * *

><p><strong>I love the interactions between Riku, Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz. They're so cute! They sort of act as Riku's make-shift guardiansbrothers. They make fun of him a lot because he's a teenager and prone to his emotions, but they really do care about him. Well, actually, **_**every**_** skinwalker I'm going to write is going to dote on Riku due to his high status. **

**For those who don't know, Mountain Dew lowers sperm count. :D Thank God I'm not a dude! Mountain Dew's my favorite drink.**

— **Thanks for reading! As always, please review. :) **

_**|Corrosive Moon|**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Good GOD, it's been a while since I've updated this story, hasn't it? Well, guys, I took a few steps back, re-evaluated this story and now I feel ready to continue it, starting with this chapter.**

**Heads up guys, fanfiction(dot)net's document reader is _FUCKING UP MY STORY'S FORMAT AGAIN._ (Oh my! I am totally surprised at this completely uncalculated turn of events! I did not see this coming..._NOT__!_!_!_) This time, the stupid lines aren't appearing where I place them. I beg you to extend patience and bear with me because I CAN'T STAND THEM EITHER.  
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**You know, I actually WOULD email fanfiction(dot)net support if it would do me any good, but those assholes never reply back to me.  
><strong>

* * *

><p><em>Chapter 3: The School Cat<em>

Riku remembered his first lesson very well, even though he had been only four-years-old at the time. His father lifted him up and carried him out to the gardens. The nocturnal flowers opened themselves up to the full moon and filled the night air with their luscious scent. The garden was one of Riku's earliest memories. That, and the wall that surrounded their home.

_"Our people began as gifted individuals of the hunter-gatherer tribes who were very in tuned with the beasts and nature and acknowledged them as their superiors in hunting,"_ _his father said._ _He winced as his son pulled on his hair and chuckled. His father went on with the story, just as his father had done, and his father before him, and his father before him and so on._

_"Then one day, a very distraught human prayed fervently to the moon goddess, asking her to transform him into a tiger so that he may catch their speedy prey. The moon goddess took pity on him, touched him with her grace, and thereby gave him the knowledge to change into another animal at will. With his new ability, the man lived a very long and prosperous life. That man taught his wife and his son how to shape-shift into animals, and when the son was old enough, he taught his wife and children, and when his children were old enough, they in turn taught their families and so our people were created and prospered into a Kingdom." _

_Sephiroth looked down at him. "Do you understand, Riku?"_

_"Yes, father."_

From there, Riku found himself thinking of the elegant chair in his father's study. He recalled the prestigious off-white colors of the walls, the baroque décor Sephiroth favored, and paintings of the previous heads of the Silver Moon House which surrounded the room. The desk was massive, and its color matched the scheme of the room. It faced the window (which gave a charming view of the gardens and the loathsome, beautiful wall), was located opposite of the door, and surrounded by shelves of books.

To the right of his father's desk, there was always that elegant chair. It was in that chair that Riku learned more than his accomplished tutors could ever teach. Because every day after all his lessons and training, Riku sat in that spot and Sephiroth spoke to him about the ways of patience, cunning, strategy, the duties of the head of the household, and the psychology of minds—human and skinwalker alike. Here and there his father would speak to him of old magics, like the castle, the old an elegant relic of the skinwalker's former Kingdom, and the wall which - _were supposed to - _keep them safe. Sometimes his father would regale Riku with stories of their ancestors and his childhood; whatever Sephiroth wanted to talk about, the silver-haired teen hung onto his every word.

It was strange thinking of his previous teachings on the morning of his first day of human school. It made Riku sad, pondering about his lessons and how proud his parents had been of him. He had only been a year-old when he attained a partial transformation; Riku had changed his nose into a domestic cat's. It was completely unheard of for such a young infant to even attempt a shifting. By two years, Riku could completely change into another animal at will. His mother and father had been so happy; their son was a natural.

Riku made his way to the Gaming Axis, which wasn't very far from Twilight Town High. Kadaj handed him his uniform and backpack, and the silver-haired teen went into the back offices to change.

"How do I look?" Riku asked Demyx as he stepped out. The sandy-blond had offered to help Riku get ready for class and drive him to school as his college classes didn't usually start until about 10:00 AM. Zexion wasn't able to come, but he sent his best regards.

"Not bad, not bad…" Demyx said, nodding.

The college student's fingers were at Riku's tie. "That's too tight," he murmured. "Let's give your intended something nice to look at." He loosened the silver-haired teen's tie and undid one button.

"There we go!" Demyx said happily. His face turned serious. "Okay! Zexy told me you've never been to a real school before so here's the down-low."

"The _what_?" Riku asked. But the older skinwalker moved on.

"The important thing is to stay cool and act normal," Demyx explained. "There are probably gonna be some assholes who might bother you 'cause you're new."

"Ah, yes, the usual human custom…" the silver-haired teen said pensively, thinking of the many school-related dramas he watched once he figured out how to use Sora's TV.

"Yup," the older skinwalker chirped. "You can kick their asses if you want, but don't make a big show of it. Play up the victim—wait for them to make the first move and then attack with a flourish. Got it?"

"Yeah," Riku nodded.

"Oh, and about wooing: don't try too hard," the mullet-mohawked skinwalker emphasized. "You can't just walk up to Sora and hit on him. He has a boyfriend. He'll get defensive and think you're a manwhore. Not good. So…" Demyx's eyes gleamed playfully at this point, "catch his eye, introduce yourself, and maybe show off here and there. But let him come to you. That's very important. Okay?"

"Okay." Riku nodded again.

"Any questions?"

This time the younger skinwalker shook his head. He was certain that human high school couldn't be _that_ hard. He watched enough TV. How different from real life could it be?

"Great! Here's some lunch money, and…" Demyx patted him on the back sportingly, nearly giving the teen whiplash. "Let's get going, Tiger!"

"R-right."

* * *

><p><em>"Of course it was natural that our people would branch out and favor certain animals due to many factors, the most common is the environment and the second is the certain traits the coveted animal carries. While it's true that each skinwalker <em>can_ change into whatever creature he or she wishes, transforming into the favored animal of the House is easier. I'm sure you've noticed, Riku, that changing into a bird is more trying than changing into a tiger or a cat for you. _

_"I believe that this phenomenon occurred over time. As the members of a House continued to change into the particular creature of that House, it became easier. And when they bore children, it became easier for them, and so on and so forth until changing into the House animal became second nature to its members. Interesting, no?_

_"But I am wandering. Let's start on the Houses: there's the House of the Cerulean Moon, who favor the shark because that house sprang in the maritime. Good people—adaptive. Well, I suppose you have to be when you deal with the sea. I believe the current House animal is the bullshark - notice I say _current_ - an animal that has the ability to survive in salt __and fresh water."_

* * *

><p>"Who's that?" one girl whispered. "I've never seen him before!"<p>

"_Oh_, that's the new transfer student!" her friend whispered back. "Riku Yorushi, I think his name was. I heard he passed the entrance exam with top marks!"

"He's dreamy…"

"We should say hi…"

Thirty minutes into his first day, and Riku was already annoyed with the constant mutterings around him, which he only caught because of his cursed enhanced hearing. It was irritating going about his business pretending he didn't hear every girl and homosexual boy commenting about his backside, but at least Marluxia was able to place Riku in most of Sora's classes. That was a definite plus. The pink-haired skinwalker raised no suspicion concerning the main branch member's request, either because Kadaj informed him of Riku's intentions or he was indifferent about the situation. In any case, Riku was grateful for the lack of probing.

Marluxia had met him at the entrance. He had given him a brief tour of the school, showed him the bathrooms, the lunchroom ("I do apologize that the meals aren't up to your accustomed standards," Marluxia said), the gymnasium, the library and finally his locker. After demonstrating how the metal contraption worked, the pink-haired skinwalker guided him to his first class. He explained that Riku would have to introduce himself to the classroom each period, and that he had to turn in the slip of paper to the office after all his teachers signed it.

"If at any time you are confused about the protocols of school life, Riku, please don't hesitate to call me," the pink-haired skinwalker said with a slight bow of his head.

"Thank you, Marluxia," the seventeen-year-old replied, though he speculated that he wouldn't need it. Riku was certain that the time spent watching high-school dramas on the Hikari's TV would serve him well.

When the skinwalker walked into class, the chatter that could be heard outside the room died down a bit. Riku pretended not to notice as he stood by the teacher's desk. In the corner of his eye, he saw Sora in his seat by the window, surrounded by his friends Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie. The skinwalker was able to recognize them because sometimes the brunet often brought them over to his house. Riku's heart raced, and he had this strong urge to scurry to himout of feline habit.

"Riku Yorushi," the seventeen-year-old announced himself, saying his alias fluidly. Luxord Doyle, a thirty-year-old British man with short, blond hair and piercings, glanced up at him.

"Ah, the new transfer," he said. He placed his papers aside and turned to the class.

"Students!" he called. "We have a new addition to our class today. Try not to frighten him off, eh?"

A scattered chuckle rose from the class. Luxord gestured for Riku to introduce himself.

"Good morning," he said. "My name is Riku Yorushi." The skinwalker surveyed the class, quite surprised that there was no one who stood out as a smart-mouth, but street-smart, delinquent or a yankee**[1]** of some sort.

"And a little about yourself, if you please," the teacher prompted.

"Um," Riku thought for a moment. "I'm seventeen and this is my first time in a… public school." He had almost said "human school."

"Thank you, Mr. Yorushi. You can take your seat in the back and we'll begin." Luxord turned to the whiteboard and pulled off the top of a dry-erase marker. "Today we're starting conic sections. Now, who can tell me what a conic section is?"

Riku looked out the window as an excuse to catch a glimpse of Sora while he walked down the aisle. The teen hardly even noticed the male student with a beanie at his left slide out his foot. Any normal human wouldn't have noticed in time and tripped, undoubtedly humiliating himself. The silver-haired skinwalker's reflexes, however, were impeccable, and he hopped over the treacherous foot without batting an eyelash. He was even cool enough to throw a triumphant smirk at the fuming Beanie-Guy before continuing to seat.

Riku plopped into his chair, placed his backpack onto his lap, opened it and jammed his hand into the backpack to search for his books. Out of the corner of his eye, the silver-haired teen saw something white shift outside the window. He lifted his head and froze.

Loz, who had taken the form of a very fluffy, very fat cat, was staring back at him. Loz's cat-green eyes looked back at him for a moment before the older skinwalker raised a paw and waved at him.

"Mr. Yorushi," Luxord called. "Your undivided attention, if you please."

"Y-yes, sir," Riku said absentmindedly as he forced his gaze back to the front of the class.

* * *

><p><em>"There's the House of the Golden Moon, who favor the dog and it's trademark loyalty. It's a remarkable trait, to be sure. Remember this, Riku, the Golden Moon will never betray each other and will always keep their word. They are good allies or terrible enemies. Our House has been lucky to have a good relation with them."<em>

* * *

><p>Sending Loz to spy on him was no doubt Kadaj's doing. Riku grinded his teeth in aggravation as he rushed out of class, determined to find the youngest of the trio and diplomatically ask him to leave.<p>

Suddenly his intuition spiked just as Beanie-Guy rushed forward to ram him from his side. Riku stepped back. The belligerent classmate missed him completely and collided head-on into the lockers. The sound of body hitting metal emanated loudly in the hallways, causing several students to stop.

Riku had thought for sure that a human hitting the lockers at that kind of speed would surely do some damage. Much to his bitter amusement, however, Beanie-Guy glared at him and growled, apparently unscathed.

'Fascinating,' Riku thought to himself tonelessly.

"Dodgy little punk, aren't you, New Kid?" the angry teen said.

"I just have a high sense of self-preservation and a fixation with keeping my social integrity intact," Riku replied, coolly.

Beanie-Guy looked a bit confused.

"Do you want me to repeat that in smaller words?" Riku offered with a disarming smile. The group of students around them snickered.

"Shut up!" the other adolescent slammed his fist into the lockers angrily.

Just as the silver-haired teen was about to reply, someone placed a hand on Riku's shoulder.

"Break it up, Seifer," came a voice. "Or I'll call a teacher over."

Seifer gritted his teeth, as if he were weighing the consequences of continuing the confrontation. Finally, he turned heel and stalked off.

Riku turned to see who had intervened. She was a teenage girl about his height, with short, gray-silver hair, red eyes, and pale skin. Her uniform was adorned with several gothic crosses and leather straps. Oddly enough, her scent was familiar to him, but before Riku could figure out why, she spoke up.

"It hasn't even been half a day," the girl said with a small, amused smile, "and you've already made an enemy, my Lord." She added the title quietly.

It took Riku moments to recognize who she was and he nearly slapped himself for not realizing sooner.

"Paine!" he cried happily, throwing his arms around his cousin. "I haven't seen you in ages!"

The tardy bell rang, but neither skinwalker noticed.

"You have no idea how glad I am to see you," Riku said, beyond relief as he pulled away.

Paine smiled back. "Here, I'll walk you to your next class."

"Thanks."

"When we heard about what happened in the main house, we immediately headed to Radiant Garden," she explained as they walked. "When no one could find you, we thought that you…" She chanced a glance at him.

"Almost," Riku said grimly. He looked up at her, almost too afraid to ask his next question. "What of my mother and father?"

Paine stopped walking and swallowed the knot in her throat. "The main house was set aflame, more thank likely due to your father to ensure that neither his or your mother's body could be collected by those _vile_ hunters..." she snarled, too angry to finish the sentence. Riku felt a spring of rage well up inside his own heart, too.

"We buried their remains we could find at Uncle Ansem's estate," Paine continued. "It was a lovely funeral. All the houses attended, among others. The mortician suggested that we set up a coffin for you." She snarled quietly. "I nearly tore his tongue out."

Riku smiled. "You have my thanks."

"I said, _nearly_ tore his tongue out."

"No, not for that," the silver-haired teen chuckled. "For believing that I was still alive."

Paine grinned back. "I know you're tougher than that, Riku."

The light-haired skinwalker continued on. "So the cadet branches of our house were went to other towns to scout for you. I requested to be sent here. Kadaj, Yazoo, Loz had always been close to Lord Sephiroth. I figured if there was any place you'd go, it'd be where they were. Where have you been? Kadaj didn't even tell us!"

"I've been in one of Kadaj's safe-houses, out of the public's eye," the silver-haired teen lied, feeling an uncomfortable pit burrow into his stomach. "We wanted to be more cautious." His dropped his gaze downward. "I'm sorry."

Paine punched his arm lightly. "Don't apologize for that," she said quietly.

Riku opted to change the subject. "When's your lunch period?" he asked.

"Fourth period," she replied.

The silver skinwalker's heart sank. His was sixth period.

"Don't worry about it," Paine said, offering him a smile. "I'll meet you after school. We'll catch up then."

* * *

><p><em>"There's also the House of the Celadon Moon, who are quite partial to the reptiles. They are cunning, tricky people. I, myself, prefer not to get involved with them unless necessary. Dealings with the Celadon Moon tend to be… a double-edged sword."<em>

* * *

><p>Excluding the heated glares Seifer sent his way, the morning passed by without any activity. Riku took Demyx's advice and kept his distance from Sora, though he did notice that the brunet often glanced at him. He felt happy that he was getting the brunet's attention, at least. It was one small step toward his objective.<p>

At lunchtime, Riku stifled his hunger and prowled the school grounds to track down Loz. His search eventually took him to the roof. Riku followed his nose to the shadow cast by the roof's entrance and found Loz the fat, white cat lounging on his stomach.

/Hi, Riku,/ Loz greeted lazily, speaking in the skinwalker's speech that fell deaf to human ears.

Riku stalked up to him, intend on asserting every advantage his main branch member status could muster. "Loz, I want you to go home right now," he ordered.

/Can't…/ Loz yawned and rolled over on his back, /Kadaj told me to watch you this week./

"I am perfectly capable of handling myself—wait, _this_ week?" Riku almost roared.

Much to his content surprise, Sora's head poked out of the doorway. "Excuse me," the brunet began, "Sorry, but students aren't allowed—oh!" He cut himself off as he set eyes on Riku and his face lit up with a smile. "Hey! Riku Yorushi, right?"

"Y-yeah," Riku barely managed to reply. His heart leaped up to his chest as Sora approached him.

The human's eyes fell on Loz. Sora gasped in delight. "Is that your cat?" he asked, though he didn't wait for an answer before continuing. "He's so cute! Can I pet him?"

"Of course." For the first time today, Riku was glad his cousin had tagged along, and he finally realized there was some truth in what those loathsome, sleazy men on the TV shows said. Cute animals really were a magnet for attractive people. Who'd have thought it?

Sora plucked the fat cat from the ground and held him tightly with delight. Loz grunted.

"So what's this little guy's name?" the brunet asked.

"Uh…" The silver-haired teen gathered all the creative power he could muster. "…Fluffy."

Loz's ears flattened in disapproval. /That's mean, Riku…/ he objected.

"Cute name," Sora said. "You know, I have a cat too."

"Oh? Really?" The silver-haired teen feigned ignorance.

"Yeah, his name's Riku, just like yours. Isn't that weird?"

Riku laughed as calmly as he could. "That is."

Sora squeezed Loz one last time before letting the cat down. Loz glanced at Riku for a moment before scampering off to give the younger skinwalker some privacy, which was gratefully appreciated.

"You know, you remind me of my cat a lot," Sora said offhandedly.

"Do I?" Riku replied, vaguely.

"Yeah." The brunet came close and eyed his hair. "Your hair's the same color. And I think your eyes are, too."

Riku felt his face heat up and his heart rate skyrocket. He could touch Sora if he wanted to. He had dreamt of touching the brunet's face with his own hands for so long. Maybe for a second he could…

"_You can't hit on him," _Demyx's words came back, breaking through his thoughts. _"He'll think you're a manwhore."_

"I'm sorry," Sora apologized when he saw the silver-haired teen's downtrodden face. "I know it's kinda weird for me to come up here and suddenly compare you to my cat. I mean, I don't even know you and you're new here and—"

"It's fine, Sora." Riku said, with a soft laugh.

The brunet tilted his head sideways. "I don't remember telling you my name," he said.

The skinwalker quickly sought to cover his slip-up. "Really? I could have sworn you said it a while ago."

"Oh." Sora's eyes glanced upwards thoughtfully, expression shifting into what Riku recognized as his thinking face. A moment later Riku's stomach asserted its need for food in a scandalously loud rumble.

The human giggled. "Wanna grab something to eat?" he asked.

"I'd love to," Riku said quickly, hardly hiding his eagerness. He couldn't help it. He was making progress so fast.

"Cool." The silver-haired teen shot Loz a dirty look before he and Sora headed to the cafeteria in a leisurely pace.

"So I think we have Advanced Mathematics, Physics, English and History together, right?" the human asked.

"Yeah." Riku was going to mention that they also had Biology 3 together, but he realized that they hadn't been to that class yet.

"I saw Seifer try to trip you," the brunet said with a scowl. "He's such a dick."

Riku tripped over his own feet when Sora dropped the vulgar word, but he quickly regained his balance.

Sora continued on without noticing. "Just because you're new he thinks he can push you around. Hey, your face is red. Are you all right?"

"Fine, fine," the skinwalker said a bit too quickly.

'I just never knew you had such a crude vocabulary…' Riku thought to himself. And yet for some strange reason, the thought of Sora using dirty language was actually… kind of sexy.

Sora's eyes widened as he remembered that it was Riku's first time at a public school. "Oh my Go—gosh! You're a sheltered private Catholic school kid, aren't you?" he said, panicking. "Oh shit—I mean, crap! I mean… Oh, no…" The human buried his face in his hands. "I've scarred you for life, haven't I?"

"No, no, I'm all right," Riku said, waving it off.

"Aside from the fact that I weirded you out and traumatized you within the first thirty minutes of our friendship."

The silver-haired teen laughed. "The good thing about friendships is that you don't have to be perfect," he said. "But just for the record: no, I'm not a sheltered private Catholic school kid. I was just home-schooled."

"Ooh, home-schooled," Sora repeated in awe. "So this must be a real transition for you, then."

Riku nodded. "It's certainly different."

"Well, that's cool," the brunet said, easily slipping back into his easy-going demeanor. "Anyway, if Seifer ever gives you trouble again, I'll come and help you."

"Thanks," the skinwalker flashed a smile.

* * *

><p><em>"Ah, the House of the Vermillion Moon, a grandiose group of families who favor the bird. Like the bird they enjoy freedom and movement. They have never given us trouble, though they prefer to keep to their own business and stay out of ours. If you barter with them, do not expect them to give too much. Oh, they will keep their word, rest assured, but they prefer to be the party who loses the least and gains the most out of any contract, more so than any of the other Houses."<em>

* * *

><p>The rest of the school day passed by uneventfully and the silver-haired teen soon found himself exiting his last class a bit disappointed. The televised dramas made high school seem so… action-packed. He half-expected a sort of modern-day anarchy with social traps, pregnant teenagers, vicious fights between girls, gangs, and pranks-gone-wrong. However, now that Riku thought about it, he figured the school was better off without them.<p>

In all, public school wasn't so bad. The only class that disturbed him at all was his Physical Education class. Not the activities, but the fact that they had to change in front of each other. Luckily, Riku was exempted from changing today as his P.E. outfit had yet to come in. Even though the skinwalker had watched enough TV at Sora's house to know how P.E. in schools worked, the fact that he would eventually have to dress out in front of everyone made him anxious. Though, he was fascinated with how the class seemed so comfortable changing in a room full of other people.

The changing classes, teachers, and the hustle and bustle of students around him left Riku pleasantly unsettled. It was stark contrast to his old, static study room in the quiet atmosphere of his Radiant Garden. Not that the silver-haired teen really found anything wrong with that, at least that's what he thought back then, before he came here and realized how enclosed his existence was. While he was learning how to become the next head of the Silver Moon House he missed the nonsensical, whimsical things of the human world like TV, radio, computers, internet, and people in general.

His singular heritage gave him access to superior education, but it also shut him away from the world, locked him behind prestigious white walls to keep him safe. Outside of that bubble, even in this rather average-looking school facility, Riku felt freer here.

Paine found him once last period ended. She looked ecstatic.

"Seifer really hates you," she said with a reserved, but gleeful, smile. "I'd be worried about you if you were a regular human."

Riku barked out a laugh. "He really has a one-track mind, doesn't he?"

"Shall I get rid of him for you?" Paine looked a bit _too_ eager to help. "A lynx attack might be rather far-fetched but certainly not unheard of."

The silver-haired teen almost—_almost—_conceded. "No," he answered. "I walk among humans now and I will solve my problems on human terms. But I thank you for the delightful image of Seifer being mauled by an animal." He grinned.

His cousin grinned back. "So how was your first day of school?" she asked.

Riku shrugged. "All right. Though I expected a bit more excitement. I thought for certain I'd meet a yankee**[1]** or at least an emo. I've always wanted to meet one! Emos are so strange, aren't they Paine? I've yet to grasp why even though they're so adverse to the world they elect to be vegan."

Paine raised an eyebrow. "What kind of shows has Kadaj been letting you watch?" she asked. "You do know that most of the things they broadcast on TV aren't true, right?"

"So every school isn't equipped with an impeccable band that's at the beck and call of a glee club and has the ability to play requested songs in an instant?"** [2]** Riku questioned, down-trodden.

The light-haired girl gave him a peculiar look that made his cheeks flush red with embarrassment.

"I think it's within your best interest to stop watching TV, Riku," was all she said.

They talked for a while longer as Riku waited for Kadaj. The silver-haired teen spoke of his journey briefly (careful to leave out Sora) and encouraged Paine to talk more about their family.

"How's Aunt Lulu doing?" he asked.

"Mother's doing well," the light-haired girl replied. "Her collection of dolls is as vast as ever. She's going to throw a fit when she finds out you've been safe this entire time. Mother's been worried sick about you."

Riku winced. "I saw what she did to Uncle Boris," he said, recalling an incident in which his uncle had accidentally broken one of her ancient and rare Chinese dolls. Lulu had set him on fire.

"You should prepare yourself," Paine advised with a flat look on her face. "Uncle Boris was lucky."

"Oh, Goddess…" Riku muttered, lowering his head and placing his palm to his temple in an attempt to calm an oncoming headache.

"Uncle Ansem has been heading our family," Paine went on. "Most of the Heads have given you up for dead. Are you planning on telling them you're alive soon?"

"Not yet," Riku explained. "I felt it best to keep myself hidden from them for the time being. The hunters who broke into our most coveted sanctuary must have access to someone powerful, someone among the Heads of the Houses." That wasn't a lie. Riku had come to those solid conclusions on his way to Twilight Town.

"They knew how to find my room, Paine. They entered my room," the seventeen-year-old said, his face clouding with fury. Since it housed the future of the Silver Moon bloodline, Riku's room was the most ingeniously guarded of Radiant Garden's rooms. It was sanctioned by magic that was laid down by first skinwalkers of legend when they were persecuted by the first hunters. It wasn't easy to find, let alone break into. "It's best to keep the Heads ignorant of my survival."

The light-haired girl nodded and went on. "Understood."

Riku took several deep breathes to control himself. In a grateful change, Paine talked about something else. "Oh, I heard Zexion's in college already."

"Yes, I've seen him. He tutored me for the entrance exam."

"Ah, how is he?"

"He's doing well. He's sharing an apartment with Demyx, another skinwalker."

"I've never heard him before. What's his family name?"

"Ross. Of the Golden Moon."

"Ah," she tilted her head to the side a bit as she recalled the family.

A bright red Lotus Elise drove up in front of the school. The window rolled down to reveal Kadaj at the steering wheel.

"Hey! Riku!" he called, waving his arm wildly to catch his cousin's attention.

The silver-haired teen sighed. If the ostentatious car didn't turn heads, the older skinwalker's obnoxious yelling surely did. Together, Riku and Paine headed to the car.

"Hey," Kadaj greeted the light-haired girl. "Didn't know you went to this school."

"Didn't know Riku was alive until this morning, thank you very much," Paine countered rather spitefully. She turned to the Riku. "See you tomorrow, my Lord."

"Paine, I already said—" the silver-haired teen began to protest but Paine interrupted him.

"Humor me," she said. "I didn't think I'd ever be able to call you that again."

The light-haired girl opened the door for him.

"Thanks," Riku said. He grinned at her. "See you tomorrow."

He shut the door and Kadaj steered the car away from the sidewalk and into traffic.

"So, how was your first day of class?" Kadaj asked his cousin.

"Great," Riku answered brightly. "Aside from the fact that you sent Loz to follow me," he added acidly.

"What? Was he being too obtrusive?" The older skinwalker glanced up at the rearview mirror to catch Riku's gaze. "Hmmm… maybe I'll send Yazoo next time—"

"I don't want you to send anyone!" the teen protested.

"I allowed you go to a human school; I didn't say anything about letting you go unsupervised."

The main branch member opened his mouth to protest but Kadaj shot him a look that clearly stated the argument was over.

* * *

><p><em>"And, of course, there is our House, the House of the Silver Moon. We are the first family of skinwalkers. We are direct descendents of the first human who was touched by the grace of the Moon Goddess. Have great pride, Riku. The Heads of the Houses look to the Head of the Silver Moon House. One day, that will be you."<em>

* * *

><p><em>Extra: The Thing About Names<em>

* * *

><p>Riku twitched his tail in aggravation as he glanced up at Sora.<p>

"Hmmm…" the brunet placed a fingertip to one side of his lip as he looked at a sheet riddled with potential names.

Fluffy, Mr. Meow, Tom, Scratches, Whiskers, Sherlock, Kenken—each had been met with a displeased meow from his new pet and crossed out. They had been at this for the last hour and brunet was right about at the end of his creativity streak.

Naturally, Riku was far more irritated at this tedious game than Sora was. Since he was posing as a regular cat, the skinwalker certainly couldn't say, "My name is Riku!" outright.

"Are you sure you don't like 'Kenken'?" the brunet asked, turning to his pet with a dubious look. "I like 'Kenken.'"

Riku wrinkled his nose and did his best to make his feline face look offended. It looked like Sora got the message.

"Fine," he sighed in defeat, unable fathom why his cat was being so picky.

Figuring that now would be the time to start his homework, the brunet opened his laptop and turned it on. Sora heaved his heavy history book onto his desk, opened up a new document and set to work on writing a paper on the history of Deep Jungle.

Riku watched in fascination. He had never seen a computer up close before. Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz had talked about them once and he had seen some, but they had never brought one to Riku. The skinwalker observed as Sora typed and deleted and sighed. Then, after catching on, an idea came to him. Riku rose up from his haunches and pawed a few choice keys.

"Hey!" the brunet protested. "You pesky cat!" He shooed the cat off his laptop. Letting out an irritated mewl, Riku leaped off the desk completely and sought refuge on top of Sora's bed.

The brunet sighed and turned back to his screen.

RIKU.

The name stared back at him on the nearly blank document.

"Riku?" Sora read aloud.

The silver cat meowed in approval. The human stared at him, an amused smile tugging his lips. "So it's Riku, huh? That's what you want?"

Riku meowed again.

Sora beamed. He was positively ecstatic that his cat had somehow managed to choose his own name. "Riku!" he cooed. "Come here, Riku!"

* * *

><p><strong>[1] <strong>Yankee**: a delinquent who usually dies his/her hair blonde, dresses really sloppy, sleeps around, and plucks out their eyebrows. Apparently this is Japanese students think that Americans look like that. And let me tell you non-American readers, I've lived in the US for well over a decade and I have NEVER seen anyone who fits this profile (at least not to the T.) Maybe up more up North of the US? **

**[2]"**So every school isn't equipped with an impeccable band that's at the beck and call of a glee club and has the ability to play requested songs in an instant?" _**Glee **_**reference!**_**!**_**! XD For those of you who are face-palming, don't worry. I gave up on **_**Glee**_** at the third season. The Klaine ship tanked, man. The Klaine ship tanked. **

**I've started to realize that I've sort of characterized Sora like Fin from _Glee_. An idiot who's somehow the center of attention of everyone. Hahaha! XD**

**Sorry this chapter wasn't very exciting. :/ Well, if this story goes the way I want it to go, it should - keyword "should" - culminate into something more exciting soon.  
><strong>

**Also guys! Please check out my _Cookie Jar_ compilation! Yes, this is a shameless plug to one of my stories. I'm sad because I actually think the last two chapters were pretty good, but no one seems to like them (if the review count is anything to go by.) :( Yeah, some of the other one-shots are crappy, but once in a while I do something good! Honest!  
><strong>

** - See your next chapter!  
><strong>

**_|Corrosive Moon|_  
><strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**So, uh, here's chapter four, lol. :3**

* * *

><p><em>Chapter 4: The Cat and His Allies<em>

"How am I supposed to convince him to choose me?" Riku asked Demyx one Saturday afternoon. The younger skinwalker had commissioned the blond as a sort of informal love guru, and Demyx, an enthusiastic romantic, was more than happy to provide the service.

"Well, what does your gut say, Riku?" the older skinwalker replied.

"My gut doesn't speak," the silver-haired teen said, looking confused.

Demyx had forgotten that Riku still hadn't completely grasped human slang. "Um, what do you feel you should do next?"

"I feel like I should rip out the redhead's throat and throw it in a pile of waste… which I imagine will be more counterproductive if anything," Riku added quickly as Demyx opened his mouth to protest.

"You got that right, bro," the older skinwalker nodded. "What you need to do is try to get Sora alone. Well, not alone, per say, but interact with him when Axel's not there. Find out activities Sora does that Axel isn't a part of. And I don't mean just in class or whatever, I mean do stuff together that seems harmless and friendship-building so he doesn't suspect your ulterior motives."

Riku almost smirked. It sounded like espionage.

"Show him you notice him. Talk about the little things like how you like his shoes, or remember what he said about something he thought was important. But don't pay _too_ much attention to him or he'll get put off by it. You can give him gifts if you like, but you're gonna have to mediate that because that also be seen as general creepy-ness. And make sure they're sort of insignificant but somewhat important and useful."

The younger skinwalker sighed and ran a hand through his hair in agitation. Human wooing was so complex. Every aspect seemed to have a dual nature.

"The movies make it seem like it's so simple and… quick," Riku muttered. "You would simply need to execute a daring stunt, deliver a brazen confession, and off you go into the sunset with your dearly beloved."

"Riku, not everything you see in the movies is exactly, uh, correct," Demyx said around a very large sandwich. "Like, I once saw this movie where this dude ran through airport security to confess his love to some chick who was leaving for some random country. Turns out that in real life the officers can actually _shoot you_ for doing that."**[1]**

The silver-haired teen winced and sipped his water, deciding to digest the information in silence.

* * *

><p>Truth be told, playing the roles of Sora's cat and classmate was tiring to say the least. Riku had a very tight schedule. The moment the brunet stepped out of the house, he had to race to the Axis, throw on his uniform and rally up one of his cousins to drive him to school. Getting home before Sora was easy as the brunet took the bus home while Riku was picked up by Kadaj. The main issues were homework, studying, and projects. Homework and studying had to be done in the dead of night, which was easy enough since Sora slept like a log. Projects were a bit more difficult, especially when Riku had to work with others, but he managed to slip out of the house and meet his partner—or partners—whenever necessary. Though Sora was aware of his cat's absence, he didn't draw any suspicion.<p>

Currently, his effect on Sora had been positive. After Riku had officially met the brunet as a human, Sora enthusiastically retold their first meeting to his pet. Riku gradually began slipping in bits of things he knew Sora would like as the days went on; mentioning a band that just so happened to be Sora's favorite, choosing a snack at lunchtime that Sora was also fond of. But the silver-haired teen was careful about being too similar to Sora due to some advice from Demyx.

"Don't be just like him," the mullet-mohawked college student had advised. "People don't _just_ want parallels in their partners. They also want their significant others to have qualities that they value and strive to have. If everyone only wanted someone who was like themselves, we'd be marrying our own clones. And wouldn't that be boring?" Demyx and Zexion's relationship was further evidence to the sandy-blond's logic.

So Riku flaunted his strengths—intellect, beauty, and anything that made him unique. After only a week, Riku Yorushi was recognized throughout Twilight Town High school. At two weeks the skinwalker had received well over 100 love letters. Girls and boys flocked to him, trying to get his attention or speak to him or recruit him into an afterschool club, but Riku ignored these invitations because he only had eyes for Sora.

Only Sora.

* * *

><p>"Doing your homework before class again, Sora?" Riku asked with a rather dashing smirk as he sat next to the brunet during their lunch hour. Sora's usual friends were already seated around them at the table, chattering among themselves.<p>

The brunet chewed on his lower lip as he eyed his paper nervously. "Yeah…" he mumbled.

"I guess shirking your school duties to nap isn't so helpful, is it?" Riku asked, reflecting on Sora's poorly thought decision to sleep first and do homework later. It was time well spent on Riku's part, at least. The skinwalker was more than content to snuggle next to his human.

Sora's lower lip jutted into a very identifiable pout as he looked up at him. "How did you know I decided to sleep instead of doing homework?"

"Educated guess." The silver-haired teen shrugged his shoulders. "The answer to the question is fifteen, by the way."

The brunet scribbled the answer down immediately. Then he looked up to Riku with astoundingly adorable, pleading eyes. "Riku, have I ever told you you're my bestest-best friend in the whole wide universe? The _coolest, awesomest_ guy ever?"

Riku raised an amused brow as he caught onto Sora's game. He decided to pretend not to be overjoyed that teen would come to him for help.

"And I bet it would be totally awesome for me to help you with your math homework, right?" Riku countered, inwardly thrilled of his use of human slang.

Sora batted his royal blue eyes on him, working every iota of his irresistible charm.

Riku leaned over his paper and glanced at the problems. "All right."

"You're the best, Riku!" the brunet said gratefully, writing the answer.

As the skinwalker ate, he helped Sora in-between bites. Riku was careful to make sure that the brunet knew how to get the answers before moving onto the next question.

"Thanks, Riku," Sora said, smiling brightly at him.

"If you have any more trouble with math, you can come to me," Riku tried to keep himself from sounding too cheerful.

"Sure! I—"

Two large hands suddenly swooped before Sora's eyes and a mass of flaming-red hair appeared, breaking the quaint air.

"Guess who?" the intruder asked, playfully.

"Axel!" Sora responded instantly. He whirled around and threw himself at the redhead. Riku felt his chest tighten painfully at the sight. He forced his lips to stay shut to ensure he wouldn't give any improper protest.

"What are you doing here?" the brunet asked, laughing. "I thought you had class."

"I did. I skipped," Axel answered simply with a shrug of his shoulders. He grinned.

"If you fail and end up held back a year, I'll laugh at you."

"I thought you said you liked a man who could make you laugh?" the redhead questioned.

Riku felt sick. He turned his head away and sipped his water to rid the taste of bile rising from the back of his throat.

"Oh, hey!" Axel said, noticing Riku for the first time. "You're that new kid, aren't you? Riku, right?"

The silver-haired teen hoped his smile didn't look more like a grimace. "Yeah."

"Axel Lea," the redhead said, jutting his hand out. "Nice to meet you!"

Tentatively, Riku shook the offered hand. "Nice to meet you, too."

"So, where you from?" Axel asked casually as he planted himself in between Sora and the skinwalker.

"Midgar," Riku lied smoothly. His history had been prepared beforehand, of course. He was from Midgar, his parents had gone overseas to attend some fancy business and had sent him to his cousins to be cared for. Yazoo had even compiled a file that contained everything he needed to know to pass as a Midgar citizen.

"Ooh." The redhead was fascinated. "Is it nice there?"

"Lots of tall buildings. It's a bit bleak, but I like it."

"Cool, cool. Hey, is it true that Sector Seven has the best bars around?"

"So I've heard," Riku added a smile for effect.

"Neat! So… mind if I steal my boyfriend for a bit, Riku?" Axel punctuated his statement with a rather loud kiss on Sora's cheek. Riku looked extremely uncomfortable.

"Axel!" The brunet protested.

"Hm? What?" The taller teen looked down on him. Then, with surprised eyes, he brought his glance up to Riku. "Oh shit, you're one of those catholic private school guys, aren't you?"

"Just home-schooled," the silver-haired teen corrected. "If you'll…" Riku cleared his throat. "If you'll excuse me." And with that he went off in another direction to escape Axel's presence.

"Axel!" he heard Sora whisper sharply to the redhead in protest.

Of course, Riku had also taken the time to research Axel. (His father always said information was a key factor in any battle.) The redhead had moved here several months ago from Radiant Garden, his favorite food was hot cheetos, and his grades were quite impressive. He was captain of the soccer team and was graduating next year. The redhead was a fairly likable teen and from a different stand point Riku was almost certain they would have been friends. But right now, though, he was someone Riku had to beat.

The skinwalker trudged to the roof, feeling a sudden need for the height and open air. Along the way, he caught sight of a certain blond brushing passed him and turning the corner in a hurry.

It took a couple more steps for recognition to creep its way into Riku's mind. At last, the silver-haired teen stopped completely and turned to watch the blond's retreating figure with a contemplative look.

Roxas didn't have lunch at 6th period.

As insignificant as the factoid may be, Riku found that he couldn't write it off as a simple coincidence. His instincts were telling him something was amiss, and his instincts hardly led him wrong.

* * *

><p>Roxas Strife sat in a shaded corner of what his classmates had dubbed the "Bus Ring," a loop of pavement designated for school buses to pick up students. It was a convenient spot which served his occasional anti-social needs well and had a lovely view of the Bus Ring. Currently, the blond was engrossed in a rather gory game on his PSP, which was doing a fairly good job of releasing some pent-up angst.<p>

A long shadow descended over Roxas' slumped figure and he glanced up.

"Hi, I'm Riku Yorushi," the silver-haired teen said.

"Yeah, the new kid," Roxas said flatly, returning his eyes to the game.

Riku, who knew Roxas' personality like the back of his hand, was completely unaffected.

"I understand that you're attracted to Axel," he stated.

The blond fumbled his game. "Who—what—how—_who told you that?_!" He sputtered, his face bloodless.

"No one. I figured it out myself. Rather obvious really," Riku added offhandedly. "I wonder why I never noticed before…" he muttered under his breath.

"Huh?" Roxas gave him a puzzled look.

"Ah, nothing. My point is, I think we can benefit from a partnership."

"Partnership?" the blond repeated, slowly and suspiciously. "What kind of partnership?"

"One that benefits both of us. I'm interested in Sora."

Immediately, Roxas' entire expression shifted. His lips flattened into a very thin line, his entire expression locked up and became unreadable. It was a great distinction between the two brothers, how much could be expressed on Sora's face and how little on Roxas'.

"I can give you a chance to make Axel think _you're _better than Sora for once," Riku said. He would not let the blond deter him. The silver-haired teen had watched Roxas carefully over the past week, sensed the brief inflection of irritation and jealousy in the blond's slight frown whenever he glimpsed Sora and Axel together. There was no doubt. Roxas wanted the redhead, and Riku was more than happy to help deliver the skinny menace right to him.

Roxas' face was hard and blank. After several minutes of silence the blond finally spoke,

"Why do you like Sora?" Roxas asked not with suspicious malice but with heartfelt concern for his brother.

It was a question the skinwalker had not expected. But he gave his answer.

"To put it simply: I love him," Riku said. "I knew from the moment I saw him that my place would be at his side—"

In a second surprise, Roxas burst out laughing. Though what he was laughing about, Riku couldn't figure. In any case, the blond didn't seem to be laughing _at_ him. At least the skinwalker hoped so. Human subtly was still something he had yet to fully comprehend.

"Okay, okay…" Roxas said once his laughter had subsided. "I believe you, just…" he snorted.

"I don't understand what's so funny."

"Nothing, you just sounded like you were quoting Nicholas Sparks or Stephenie Meyer or something."

"I have no idea who those people are." Riku covered his mouth as he coughed.

"Don't sweat it," the blond shrugged. "I'll help you get Sora if you help me get Axel. …Hey, are you okay?" Roxas asked as the skinwalker's coughs failed to subside.

"I'm… fine," Riku replied once his coughs subsided. "It's nothing. Are you free on Saturday?"

"Yeah."

"Excellent. Meet me at the Gaming Axis at five."

The skinwalker retrieved his phone—which was tragically too advanced for him to fully comprehend—from his pocket and held it out to Roxas. "You can put your number on this thing, right?"

"_I'm on shroooooms!"_ his phone shouted, startling both of them.

"Please ignore that," Riku said crisply, averting his gaze from Roxas' amused expression.

"Whatever, man," the blond replied. "You've got a text, by the way."

* * *

><p>"So Seifer won't be bothering you again anytime soon," Paine announced happily as she met Riku afterschool.<p>

The main branch member raised a brow. "Paine, what did you do?' he asked suspiciously.

"Oh, nothing. You know humans, they have all sorts of things on their minds. Homework, school, friends, antique cars than randomly come apart over night."

Riku knew he wasn't supposed to, but he laughed.

"You know, I never managed to ask you why you were here in the first place, Riku," Paine mused aloud.

"What do you mean?" the silver-haired teen asked as casually as he could.

"I mean why _are_ you here? In this school? I mean, the only reason why I decided to attend was because I was so damn bored I had to do something. What about you?"

"Same reason," Riku answered briefly.

Paine drew her knees up and rested her folded arms on them. "I know you're educated enough to realize that putting yourself out in the open—six months after the assassination of your _family—_is a terribly unintelligent move." She looked at him with a critical eye.

The main branch member did his best to remain as collected as possible. He shrugged.

Paine didn't falter. "Does this have anything to do with the brunet in your class I smell on you?"

It was only Riku's profound coaching in hiding his emotions that saved him from giving himself completely away.

"He has your scent on him too. But I know you two haven't been close enough to leave that much of a profound scent on each other. I'll be damned if Marluxia hasn't noticed either. He's just too polite to ask. Well? Are you going to tell me or do I have to find this out on my own, too?" Her mouth set into a frown.

The main branch member bit his lip. "I've been living in his house as a house cat," he said.

"Riku!" Paine protested. "You can't be living in a _human's_ house! I mean, I understand that no hunter would think to look for you in a human household, but that's completely beneath you! When Kadaj gets here I'm going to insist that he—"

"And I love Sora."

Paine's off-white eyebrows nearly shot up to her hairline, her heartrate skipped a beat, and her jaw looked like it was about to dislocate.

"Are you _serious?_" She leaned in close and hissed in his ear.

"Yes." Riku nodded. "I enrolled in this school to seduce him as a human. That's the real reason why I'm here."

The cadet branch member pulled away from him completely. She was too shocked to even continue to form complete sentences as she paced in agitation.

"Are you… Reall—There's just no—wha…you can't be… You're joking!" Paine spun on her heel, fixating her crimson gaze on her cousin's solemn expression. Her face fell a milli-second later. "Oh, Goddess… you're not joking."

Taking several deep breaths to steady herself, she finally sat down next to him. Riku watched her tensely. He didn't know what to do if Paine would react badly to this.

"You do realize, Riku," she said, keeping her voice very, very quiet, "that this goes against one of the most sacred rules of our clan? As the last member of pureblood line of the Silver Moon house, you're highly expected to bear offspring."

"I'm aware," Riku replied grimly.

"And should Uncle Ansem find out…"

"I know…"

"You do know you _won't_ be put to death because you're too valuable, right?"

"Yes."

A montage of emotions crossed his cousin's pale features. Desperation, fear, sorrow, confusion, guilt, reticence... "Riku, your mother and father—"

"Have always told me to be true to myself," Riku cut her off firmly. "I like Sora, human and all. There is nothing that can make me change that."

Thankfully, at that point, Kadaj's car came into view and the main branch member was spared from continuing the conversation. "I'll see you tomorrow, Paine," he said as he rose from his spot and walked quickly to the car.

"I see you've told Paine," Kadaj said, noting the light-haired skinwalker's expression as Riku slid into the car.

"She would have worked it out eventually," the seventeen-year-old muttered. "It was best to let her hear it from me first."

"Do you think it was wise, Riku? The monthly Meeting will happen soon. Paine will most certainly be attending. Do you think she will tell?"

"I'm not sure. Perhaps not."

"Perhaps," Kadaj repeated dryly. "We're placing everything onto a 'perhaps.' Lovely."

Riku scowled. "Your sarcasm is completely unnecessary right now." He raised his hand to his temple, rubbing the heel of his palm in soothing circles.

Kadaj glanced at the younger skinwalker's reflection in the rear-view mirror. "You all right?" he asked.

"It's nothing," Riku said dismissively. "Just a headache."

"_I'm on shroooooms!"_ suddenly sounded in car. Kadaj laughed as Riku dug out his tragically high-tech cell phone from his pocket. He fiddled with it for a moment, cursing its touch screen and lights before he gave up.

"Do something about this, will you?_!_" the younger skinwalker said exasperatedly, shoving the damn cell phone into his cousin's face. "Yazoo won't stop texting me and it makes that noise whenever he does and then I get in trouble! I don't understand why my classmates seem to think it's hilarious. What in the Goddess' sweet name is a shroooooms?"

Kadaj was laughing too hard to respond, or drive properly for that matter. If Riku wasn't too frustrated at his phone, he would be reprimanding his cousin about safe driving.

"Why did you even get me a phone a like this?" the younger skinwalker continued to rant. "I can't do anything with it! I barely even know how to call someone with it!"

"Oh, Riku, all the young kids always want a nice advanced phone like yours. I bet they're wicked jealous of it. You know I bet if you tinker around with it a little more you'll figure out how to make it fly."

"You're lying," Riku muttered, crossing his arms. Though, a small part of him secretly wouldn't be surprised if his phone could actually fly.

* * *

><p>Paine leaned closer to the mirror and examined her damp, light-colored hair with a concentrated frown as she carefully ran her hands through it. Finally deciding it was too short to really morph to anything other than her usual swept-back style, she folded the towel over her lap and readjusted the tie on her robe.<p>

"I hope you didn't leave too many marks when you broke in, Kadaj," Paine said as she truned to the older skinwalker. "The landlord will take it out on my rent when he finds out."

Kadaj smirked. "Not surprised to see me here, cousin?"

"I'm not surprised that you're up to your usual snooping," the light-haired teen corrected, setting her towel on her vanity table.

"Take a note," Kadaj said, advancing towards her. "'Father, Riku appears to be too busy grieving to consider bearing children. However, I will continue to be his pillar of support in these difficult times and will use that to my advantage at the opportune moment.'"

Paine rooted her feet to the spot, her crimson eyes defiantly meeting the silver-haired man's. "I have no idea what you're talking about," she said evenly.

"Don't play games with me," the older skinwalker hissed. "I know Vexen didn't send you all the way out here just for recon. _You're_ the most likely candidate as Riku's mate; an ideal way for your father to raise his status in the family. How petty."

The light-haired teen pulled her lips back and snarled. "Don't presume that my father and I are the same person!" she retorted. "Do you have any idea what I went through when I found out what happened at the main house? What I'd thought when I heard that Riku's body hadn't been found? I… I was certain that the hunters had taken him to…!" Her emotions were wrecking havoc on her ability to hold her shape. Her pupils narrowed into cat-like slits, her teeth were sharpening, her nails were elongating into needle-like claws, and the sandy-white fur of a lynx was creeping up her arms.

Kadaj readied himself for an attack, but none came. Instead Paine regulated her breathing into an even rhythm. With each exhale she regained more and more of her human form.

"Perhaps I should tell Riku what _you've_ been doing behind his back, cousin?" The younger skinwalker asked, a twisted smirk played on her lips as she regained her composure. "How is Uncle Ansem, anyway? In good health, I hope! I bet he must be quite happy. He's finally at the top of the proverbial food chain, just like he's always wanted."

Kadaj's eyes narrowed dangerously, but he said nothing in return.

"I'm not as naïve as Riku," Paine went on. "I've heard what the cadet branches whisper about your father." She stalked over to him until their noses were nearly touching.

"And you know what, Kadaj?" the younger skinwalker went on with a sardonic smirk twisting on her lips. "Some even say it was Uncle Ansem who led the hunters into Radiant Garden. Now GET OUT."

* * *

><p><strong>[1]<strong> "Like, I once saw this movie where this dude ran through airport security to confess his love to some chick who was leaving for some random country. Turns out that in real life the security personal could actually _shoot you_ for doing that." **The movie Demyx is talking about is called **_**Love Actually.**_

**So we finally get into some lies and deceit! O: Oh snap!****  
><strong>

**Thanks to _copycapy-capycot_ for beta-ing!**

** - See you all next chapter! (With any luck it won't take me so damn long to update.)  
><strong>

_**|Corrosive Moon|**_


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